Series 3700A System Switch/Multimeter Reference Manual
Section 8: Theory of operation
3700AS-901-01 Rev. D/June 2018
8-5
AC voltage measurements and crest factor
The root-mean-square (RMS) value of any periodic voltage or current is equal to the value of the DC
voltage or current which delivers the same power to a resistance as the periodic waveform does.
Crest factor is the ratio of the peak value to the RMS value of a particular waveform. This is
represented by the following equations:
The crest factor of various waveforms is different, because the peak-to-RMS ratios are variable. For
example, the crest factor for a pulse waveform is related to the duty cycle; as the duty cycle
decreases, the crest factor increases. The RMS calculations and crest factor (CF) for various
waveforms are shown in the following figures.
Figure 106: RMS calculations and crest factor